AVATAR – 3d – AndrewQ – "J-0b5"

[AndrewQ]

The image below is just a quick rough sketch. I will post more (older) sketches later, as well as the modeling progress.
I'm really looking forward to this competition, already some great entries!! Good luck all!

Avatar description:
(skip to bottom for summary)

Background/ Environment:


The planet this avatar comes from is a mostly peaceful one. The inhabitants are very in tune with nature and have
reached a state of near enlightenment. The gods and nature spirits of this planet are not hidden away in some other plane
of existence or away in an afterlife or atop a mountain. Instead they reside side by side with the people who thrive here.
Settlements never get very large, the various tribes are very much at peace with each other and war is unheard of.
Everything is pretty much great. Until the meteor fell.
It was actually a vessel. The meteor carried a kind of engineered parasite. This parasite was based on an impossible
and completely illogical mathematical growth theorem. Its creators are said to have gone insane while developing it, but it’s
hard to tell because it’s very unlikely they survived the initial launch of their own weapon.
Once the parasite gets a hold of something it changes it and adds it to itself. In only a short while the small meteor
had grown to the size of a continent, taking hold of everything in its path. Living creatures, plants, even spirits succumbed
to the parasite. Once captured, a spirit is placed inside a capsule, an empty suit of armor. It is forced into physical shell so
that the parasite can use it to reek havoc. The spread of the parasite was being hindered by the sheer willpower of the people
and their love for their home, but this couldn’t last forever.


The Avatar Appears:

There was one rambunctious wood spirit who decided he would save the day. Normally this spirit was an outcast because
he found the overly peaceful nature of his home planet very dull and boring. He was always getting into trouble; setting fires,
knocking over houses, breaking dams, uprooting trees, etc. He wasn’t evil, just bored. Once the invasion started in, he thought
it would be great fun to kick them out! But he was no match, not even at the start. His corporeal form just couldn’t affect this
unearthly scourge enough. It was like trying to knock over a glass of water with a feather.
In one of his fruitless attempts to attack the parasite nation he was captured and placed into a capsule, just like countless
spirits before him. It seemed all hope was lost. But he fought the machine, literally. He fought back against the code, the
programming designed to change him into a slave. And after the intense struggle he failed. He was not free of the parasite,
he was trapped inside a capsule with no escape. But his mind was free, he had kept his free will. Now with his new body he
could stand against the parasite nation and save his home, or at least he could try.


The Spirit and the Shell:

In spirit form the avatar is very much a changing force. Since it is not a physical being its appearance is constantly
shifting and contorting, but its essence is always the same. It is very much an active, playful being. It is powerful and
passionate, it is the summer, the waves crashing down on a beach, the force that drives the sun, the feeling you get after
surprise, but before anger. It lives for thrill and danger, it never runs from a fight, excitement fuels it, it does not know fear.
It is the hope of the people who live here, it is their salvation. They have created it, because without it they have no chance
of surviving. They don’t know it yet, but the annoying spirit constantly causing trouble will be the one to rid the world of this
horrible plague of technological filth.

The shell it is forced into is inescapable. But this is not all bad, the parasite has built these shells to be overly powerful
and capable of not only finishing this planet off, but going out to spread the virus further into the reaches of space. They were
built to, when the time comes, be a one man army.
The shell has no real weapons on board, only the powers the spirits themselves posses. This is the only reason the parasite
has yet to completely take over. Most spirits on this planet are so peaceful and docile, their powers are very underdeveloped,
unused, or in some cases unknown to their wielders. But the avatar on the other hand practices daily, and thus is a force to be
reckoned with.
The shell is built specifically to house a spirit. Each component is based around the fundamental chakras that all living
things possess. By creating a machine with near perfect chakras the parasite can harness the spirits power to their full extents.
Each element is represented in the various components to allow for any kind of power to be channeled through each shell, so only
one model would need to be made. Versatility and simplicity are the keys to mass production.
Above the head, or eye of the shell, is the symbol of the spirit that resides within. This acts as a sort of prisoner ID number,
since no two symbols are the same. Along the spine are exhaust ports. The shells do not require a physical fuel, but instead burn
the energy of the spirit within. If a spirit stops acting and is idle for too long it will be drained completely and the shell will be empty,
the only way to avoid this is the shells hibernation state for long distance traveling. In this state the spirit is dormant and mostly
impenetrable, thanks to the incredible armor of the shell. If the spirit becomes incredibly overactive or overcome with emotion the
exhaust will change from an unperceivable clear haze, and become a great plume of cosmic energy. It is difficult to describe the
energy once one has seen it because the mind cannot fully perceive free flowing spiritual energy, especially in such huge amounts.
During this change the spirits usually dull symbol blazes internally like a gemstone lit up by a hundred suns.
No speech mechanism was built because the spirits trapped in shells are mindless drones, so our hero has difficulty getting his
true intent across to his friends. The hands are somewhat rudimentary, and not meant for any kind of gentleness, only destruction.
The legs are built for speed, power and accuracy, allowing the occupant of the shell to run at speeds great enough to travel across
water, and strong enough to stop on a dime.


Insipration:

I'm kind of taking from lots of other characters and stories for this, but I think the prominent ones are 2001, Wall-E, Okami, and
the last airbender.


The Short Story:

In short, the avatar is a rambunctious nature spirit who takes hold of an enemy robotic vessel in order to save his home world from
the invading menace. The other spirits are not capable of doing the same because they are simply not strong enough. Countless eons of
peace have left them untrained and fragile. If our hero does not succeed it is not only his own world that will be gone, but all worlds
because this virus will spread forever until it is stopped.

[AndrewQ]

Just a rough block in. Not certain on the background yet, but I'm thinking a factory/warehouse setting full of closed shells.

[AndrewQ]

Update: Got some modeling done. The main element is obviously the character, so I don't mind spending most of the time getting him to look right.

The things on the left are parts of his leg, and on the right is the shell, the eye and the first part of his arm. I've started on the the spine and ribs, I'll post more as it gets done!

[FireSunFox]

This could look really cool, good luck with it!!^^

[AndrewQ]

Thanks, FireSunFox. The new wood witch, dryad, ent-girl sketches are coming along really nice as well!

[POSEIdOON]

Hey!

You should do some 2d drawing also...

I don't understand alot of 3d,
and your 3d work looks really,
but i loved your initial drawing

[AndrewQ]

nothing flashy, just some more pieces.

[washka]

I wonder how the assembled model will look like, i can't wait to see it.
Nice concept/modeling work so far, keep on the move!

[ez5k]

Hearty character, good luck! )

[mr_carl]

Like the character and the story is also good, keap up the good work and update soon

[AndrewQ]

I've got tha hands working nicely, I'll post those later. I also have just about everything built except for the plumes. I plan on doing painted background to save on time.

[Jibberwocky]

Can't wait to see all those parts put together.

[AndrewQ]

Update, Finally! I've been super busy, but I plan on finishing this!!!


So here is J-0b5 in all his default pose glory. He's pretty stiff so, the pose will be the next step. The inside of the ribcage and a few other spots will get some more attention with wires and stuff. I have some shaders lined up, but basically his shell will be a polished ceramic, the internal components will be either brushed steel or rubber. The horns will be a sort of ethereal gold glow.

I also took some quick renders of him folded up in his shell and tried to show just how he fits in there. To fit he bends his torso down, folds up his legs, and twists his hips up inside his ribcage. While doing this he is standing on his knuckles. Next he shifts the shell pieces from his wrists to his shoulder shell pieces. The arms fold up like a pointer for a blackboard or a car antennae and he reaches his hands up inside his ribcage and grabs a hold of his folded up legs.

I plan to animate this later on, the actual transformation should only take about 2 seconds, tops.


More soon!!

[Jibberwocky]

Epic, man. Great style, and I love how well thought out the mechanics are for folding up and everything. Cutting it pretty close though, eh?

[AndrewQ]

I've been doing work on shaders and putting together a temporary rig, just for this specific pose. I doubt I will finish, but When is the exact deadline, what time?? I assume it's midnight, so would that be 4 am tomorrow for Eastern US time?


By the way, some really great entries. I hope you guys participate in the Dominance war too!!